Best New Application and Best Product Design
ADOPE: Synthetic biology is currently one of the most rapidly developing fields in science. Recent advancements, particularly in genetic engineering, allow us to tackle major societal challenges. Gene engineering is even being applied to humans, with the use of gene therapy. Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent among others severe genetic disorders. However, major concerns are raised about the misuse of gene editing techniques, particularly for human enhancement. Gene doping, the misuse of gene therapy to enhance athletes’ performances, is one example. To promote responsible use of synthetic biology and to help eliminate gene doping from sport, we developed a complete gene doping detection method: ADOPE, the Advanced Detection of Performance Enhancement